WEAKNESSES

Dependent on US economy (1/2 of FDI stock, integration of the two countries’ automotive industries) and energy prices

Loss of competitiveness of manufacturing companies due to low labour productivity

Insufficient R&D expenditure

Decrease in the labour force, just slowed down by largescale selective immigration

High household debt (170% of disposable income); house prices very high, although stabilising

Energy exports weakened by inadequate supply pipelines to the coasts and the US, and by the US’s own resources

RISK ASSESSMENT

Growth still solid

Growth is expected to remain solid in 2019, despite the slowdown in domestic demand. Household consumption will show resilience thanks to the fall in the unemployment rate (5.8% in October 2018, the lowest in four decades) and the substantial wage increases boosted by growing recruitment difficulties. However, the wealth effect associated with the recent surge of house prices will be mitigated by their subsequent stabilisation. In addition, credit will continue to become dearer, reflecting the increase in the central bank's key interest rate (1.75% in October 2018, compared with 1% at the end of 2017), which is set to converge towards its neutral long-term level of between 2.5% and 3.5% amid almost full employment. As a result, residential construction, also affected by recent prudential rules aimed at limiting the risks associated with real estate loans, is expected to remain sluggish. Despite growing supply constraints, business investment will slow after a particularly dynamic 2018. It may even stagnate in the energy sector, particularly after the courts froze the USD 5.8 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project on the west coast. As fiscal policy is less accommodative, the contribution of public consumption will be significantly reduced. Conversely, the contribution of foreign trade to growth should become positive. On the one hand, imports will follow investment in slowing. On the other, exports are expected to accelerate with the signing of the USMCA deal (renegotiated NAFTA) in September 2018, which ended uncertainty about future trade relations with the United States – a crucial partner, since it accounts for 76% of total exports. Conditions will remain unchanged for most sectors, with the exception of dairy products, where Canada has opened up 3.6% of its market to the United States. Despite this agreement, the United States’ decision to maintain customs duties on imports of steel (25%) and aluminium (10%) will continue to affect metallurgy in 2019, even though the sector will benefit from the safeguard measure (import control) that came into force in October 2018. Timber exports will also remain constrained by the 20% customs duties applied by the United States in January 2018. Other export sectors, such as energy, agriculture and automotive, are expected to rebound, despite the slowdown in the United States.

Prudent fiscal policy and significant current account deficit

The government will continue its prudent fiscal policy in 2019, despite it being an election year. The additional measures to promote business competitiveness are of limited scope (CAD 5.2 billion, or 0.2% of GDP). Meanwhile, revenues will remain supported by brisk activity. As a result, public debt will continue to decline slightly. Although higher than 90% of GDP, public debt (two thirds of which is provincial or local) is sustainable, particularly thanks to its low cost linked to the country’s AAA rating. Excluding the assets held by the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans, net public debt is only 28% of GDP. The most indebted provinces are Ontario and Quebec (49% and 30% of total net provincial debt respectively). However, when compared against their economic weight, this debt remains limited (38% and 47% of GDP respectively).

The current account will remain in deficit in 2019, although less so than in 2018, thanks to the smaller trade deficit. For several years, the balances of goods, services and income have been consistently in deficit. Excluding periods of soaring oil prices, as in 2014, energy exports only partially cover the substantial trade deficit in other commodities (4% of GDP), due to the sharp appreciation of the real exchange rate in the 2000s, which has been only partially corrected since. The current account deficit is financed by large foreign portfolio investments. The substantial external debt (105% of GDP in June 2018) is mainly contracted by banks (43% of the total) and companies (38%).

Prime Minister Trudeau expected to be re-elected

Justin Trudeau, who has been Prime Minister since the 2015 parliamentary elections, in which his centre-left Liberal Party won an absolute majority (184 seats out of 338), will stand for re-election in October 2019. With less than a year to go before the elections, polls indicate a pattern relatively similar to 2015: just under 40% of the votes for the Liberal Party, which should have a good chance of maintaining an absolute majority. His main opponent will be Andrew Scheer, elected in May 2017 as leader of the right-wing Conservative Party, which governed between 2006 and 2015 and whose support in the polls remains at around 30%. The left-wing New Democratic Party, led since October 2017 by Jagmeet Singh, is expected to remain the third largest political force on 15% of the votes after losing a little ground to the Green Party. Prime Minister Trudeau is therefore the favourite to win, even though his popularity rating has fallen during his time in office and stood at 48% in October 2018 compared with 64% two years earlier. At the regional level, growing differences with the United States have led to stronger ties with other countries, including the EU nations, with the CETA trade agreement signed in late 2016.

Last update: Février 2019

Payment

A single law governs bills of exchange, promissory notes and cheques throughout Canada; however this law is frequently interpreted according to common law precedents in the nine provinces or according to the Civil Code in Quebec. As such, sellers are well advised to accept such payment methods unless where long-term commercial relations, based on mutual trust, have been established with buyers.

Centralised accounts, which greatly simplify the settlement process by centralising settlement procedures between locally based buyers and sellers, are also used within Canada.

SWIFT bank transfers are the most commonly used payment method for international transactions. The majority of Canadian banks are connected to the SWIFT network, offering a rapid, reliable and cost-effective means of payment, notwithstanding the fact that payment is dependent upon the client’s good faith insofar as only the issuer takes the decision to order payment.

The Large Value Transfer System (LVTS) –introduced by the Canadian Payments Association in February 1999 – is a real time electronic fund transfer system that facilitates electronic transfers of Canadian dollars countrywide and can also handle the Canadian portion of international operations.

The letter of credit (L/C) is also frequently used.

Debt Collection

Canada’s Constitution Act of 1867, amended in April 1982, divides judicial authority between the federal and provincial Governments. Therefore, each province is responsible for administering justice, organizing provincial courts and enacting the civil procedure rules applicable in its territory. Though the names of courts vary between provinces, the same legal system applies throughout the country, bar Quebec.

Within each province, provincial courts hear most disputes of all kinds concerning small claims, and superior courts hear large claims – for example, the Quebec superior court hears civil and commercial disputes exceeding CAD 70,000 and jury trials of criminal cases. Canadian superior courts comprise two distinct divisions: a court of first instance and a court of appeal.

At federal level, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Ottawa, and only with “leave” of the Court itself (leave is granted if the case raises an important question of law), hears appeals against decisions handed down by the provincial appeal courts, or by the Canadian Federal Court (stating in appeal division), which has special jurisdiction in matters concerning maritime law, immigration, customs and excise, intellectual property, disputes between provinces, and so on.

The collection process begins with the issuance of a final notice, or “seven day letter”, reminding the debtor of his obligation to pay together with any contractually agreed interest penalties.

Ordinary proceedings

Ordinary legal action – even if the vocabulary used to describe it may vary within the country – proceeds in three phases.

Firstly, the “writ of summons” whereby the plaintiff files his claim against the defendant with the court, then the “examination for discovery”, which outlines the claim against the defendant and takes into account the evidence to be submitted by each party to the court and, finally, the “trial proper” during which the judge hears the adverse parties and their respective witnesses, who are subject to examination and cross-examination by their respective legal counsels, to clarify the facts of the case before making a ruling.

Enforcement of a Legal Decision

In most cases, except when the judge decides otherwise, each party is required to bear the full cost of the fees of his own attorney whatever the outcome of the proceedings. As for court costs, the rule stipulates that the winning party may demand payment by the losing party based on a statement of expenses duly approved by the court clerk.

The change precisely concerns institution of a standard “originating petition” (requête introductive d’instance), with the payment of judicial costs joined, introducing a 180-day time limit by which the proceedings must be scheduled for “investigation and hearings” (pour enquête et audition), delivery of a judgement on the content within a timeframe of six months after the case was heard and encouragement of the parties to submit to a conciliation stage during legal proceedings, with the judge presiding over an “amicable settlement conference” (conférence de règlement à l’amiable).

Insolvency Proceedings

The two primary pieces of insolvency related legislation in Canada are the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (the CCAA) and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (the BIA). The BIA is the principal federal legislation in Canada applicable to bankruptcies and insolvencies. It governs both voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy liquidations as well as debtor reorganisations. The CCAA is specialized companion legislation designed to assist larger corporations to reorganise their affairs through a debtor-in-possession process.